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Toronto Mayor Rob Ford isn’t fit to coach high school football. Why do so many voters think he’s qualified to run Canada’s sixth largest government?

With a disastrous record why do so many Torontonians still feel Rob Ford is qualified to run Canada’s largest city?
(Lucas Oleniuk / Toronto Star) | Order this photo

Fri., Aug. 29, 2014

If Rob Ford is unfit to coach high school football — as is so clearly the case — why do so many Torontonians still feel he’s qualified to run Canada’s largest city? Perhaps they’re not paying sufficient attention.

If so, recently released Catholic school board documents detailing Ford’s inexcusable behaviour will provide useful reading. Given the many and serious abuses described by educators, it’s surprising Ford wasn’t fired as volunteer coach of the Don Bosco Eagles far earlier than May of last year.

According to allegations made in the documents, this is a man who had the young players in his charge “roll in goose scat.” Who came to a football practice “visibly inebriated.” Who berated and threatened to assault a teacher. And who reneged on his promise to pay for already-ordered helmets, sticking the school system with a $5,000 bill. Respect for taxpayers, indeed.

Any of these episodes should have been enough to justify the sacking of a volunteer coach, even one who happened to be mayor.

Ford should be ashamed to show his face in public, let alone run for re-election. But there’s no shaming the shameless. And he still has plenty of support.

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A new Forum Research poll pegged Ford’s backing at 31 per cent — just behind front-runner John Tory’s 34 per cent, and well above Olivia Chow’s 23 per cent. David Socknacki polled just 4 per cent, while 7 per cent were undecided.

It’s important not to overstate the significance of a single poll, especially one done during the summer doldrums, with two months of high-intensity campaigning yet to come. But the finding should be cause for concern in Chow’s camp. It’s part of a broader, downward trend. She’s a former front-runner and continued slippage would be disastrous.

If Chow intends to remain a viable contender she needs to sharpen her message, explore new strategies and present a clear, concise vision of where she wants to take this city.

On the bright side, for Ford, was a verdict from integrity commissioner Janet Leiper indicating that he didn’t violate the city’s code of conduct by having municipal staff volunteer to work with his football team.

What finally got Ford turfed as coach of the Eagles was his public statement depicting players as dead-end kids who wouldn’t bother going to school if not for the inspiration of his football program. Even worse was the first of two (two!) videos showing Ford smoking crack cocaine. It also captured him describing his football players as “f---ing minorities.”

Ironically, coaching high school football figures prominently on Ford’s scant list of lifetime achievements. As reported by the Star’s Daniel Dale and Jennifer Pagliaro, his work as coach is integral to his campaign for re-election. Ford uses it to pose as a caring conservative — presumably one who appreciates the character-building qualities of goose scat.

Ford’s disastrous record and brazen hypocrisy are there for all to see. But some folks still prefer to look away, clinging to an outdated (and inaccurate) image of Ford as a plucky tax fighter. There’s a message here for Chow, Tory and Socknacki. Campaigning on Ford’s monumental unfitness won’t be enough to win the mayor’s chain of office. They have to raise their game.

Correction- Aug. 29, 2014:
This article was edited to correct a previous version that said the verdict from the integrity commissioner was released Thursday. In fact, it was released last fall and obtained by the Star recently
.

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